Afterword

Christof Mauch studied at Tübingen University and King’s College London and majored in German literature, theology, philosophy and history. He received his Dr.phil. in German literature from Tübingen and his Dr. phil. habil. in Modern History from the University of Cologne. From 1999 to 2007, Mauch headed the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C. He has been Chair of American Cultural History at LMU Munich since 2007; and Director of the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society at LMU since 2009. Mauch was the first Chairperson (now: President) of the Board of Directors of the International Consortium for Environmental History Organizations, ICEHO (2009–2011) and he served as Vice President and President of the European Society for Environmental History (2009–2013). In 2013 he was named Honorary Professor and Senior Fellow at the Center for Ecological History of Renmin University in China. Mauch has been a visiting professor at universities in Australia, Austria, Canada, India and Poland. In 2020 he was the Carl Schurz Memorial Professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison (USA). He has received numerous international awards for his scholarly contributions and engagement, including the Distinguished Career in Public Environmental History Award from the American Society for Environmental History, the Teaching Innovation Award from the LMU Munich, and the Planetary Award from the Institute for Future Competences. Mauch has authored, edited or co-edited over forty books in the fields of Modern German Literature; US, German and transatlantic history; and the environmental humanities. Paradise Blues is his most personal book, drawing on his travels through the United States over a period of fifteen years.